Slushied
by beyourownanchor16
Summary: Whether they liked it or not, being slushied was a significant part of their high school lives. Eventual Puckleberry, Sam/Quinn and established Britanna. Prequel to You're Not Him. - On Hiatus -
1. The Beginning

**Title: **Slushied**  
>Chapter: <strong>1 (The Beginning)  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Friendship/ Hurt/ Comfort & slight Romance  
><strong>Pairings:<strong> Slight Puckleberry, Mentions of Sam/Quinn, Brittana & Finn/Puck friendship, Rachel/Sam/Puck friendship  
><strong>Word Count:<strong> 5,036 words  
><strong>Summary: <strong>As much as they hated it, slushies were a significant part of their lives in Mckinley High. AU

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, as much as I wish I was clever enough to come up with this piece of genius. I am just a girl who fell in love with the characters and wants to write a story of her own. Please review and tell me what you think! :)**

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><p>She really hated getting slushied.<p>

The ice cold syrup seeps through her sweater and Rachel could not help but want to whimper at the contact it made with her skin. She resisted the urge to shiver, knowing that that would only serve to amuse her aggravators more. Instead, she closed her eyes for a couple of seconds, glared at the hockey player who had thrown the slushy and stomped off into the nearest girl's bathroom.

She hated that after all this time, slushies were still getting to her. Yes, she could handle the insults people hurled at her everyday and she was so immune to the fact that people did not like her that it was not funny at all. But slushies were a different matter. She could block out the insults and taunts and pretend that all the scornful looks were not for her. What she could not handle, however, was not being able to block the slushy attacks out. How could she when they were always so unexpected, yet completely inevitable?

Tears stung her eyes as she pulled out her cell phone and texted Kurt, asking him to bring her an extra pair of clothes as she made her way into the girls' bathroom. After making sure that she was completely alone, Rachel Berry turned on the tap and let her tears flow, trying so hard to minimize the volume of her cries.

When she had finally gotten rid of the ice cold syrup from her hair, she sat against the bathroom wall, waiting for Kurt to come and find her.

"Damn, the least Puckerman could have done was to chose any flavour but the red one," a kind, familiar voice said and Rachel looked up, her eyes widening as she took in Sam's appearance. Sam, who had just moved to Lima a few weeks ago, who had been nothing but nice to her and who had defended her from Puckerman on the first day they had met. Sam, who she had expected to have abandoned her the moment Coach Beiste had accepted into the football team but had never left her side. He sighed, settling down beside her and put his arm around her, not caring that his shirt was getting stained. "I'm going to kill him."

"Violence is not the answer, Samuel," Rachel said tiredly and leaned her head against his shoulder, already feeling better. A few weeks ago, she would have been waiting for Kurt to come and get her alone. No one would have threatened to beat Puckerman up for slushying her.

"Fine," Sam grumbled. "But at least let me accidentally trip him or something during practice."

Rachel chuckled and she gave him that smile that had annoyed him at first but now brightened his day. "I guess he does deserve a few bruises."

**xxx Glee xxx  
><strong>  
>"Puckerman!"<p>

Puck rolled his eyes as he continued packing his bags. He did not need shit from Sam Evans today. After muttering to Finn that he was heading home, Puck walked out of the locker room, ignoring the enraged calls from Evans. Well, fuck Evans. He had 'accidentally' tripped him four times. Puck had the cuts on his knees and the bruise on his forehead to prove it. He kept silent though, because it was no doubt revenge for what he did to Rachel earlier that day.

He walked towards his truck, not battling an eyelash as a freshman was tossed into the dumpster. On a normal day, he would have joined in. But this was no normal day and Puck did not feel like being any more of an ass.

He was about to get into his truck when a large arm grabbed him roughly by the shoulders and slammed him against his truck. His shoulder screamed at the pain coursing through his arm and he glared at the teammate in front of him.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stay the fuck away from Rachel?" Evans hissed and Puck pushed him away, spitting on his shoes as he squared his shoulders.

"It's an everyday routine, Evans. You know what they say about how difficult it is to break old habits," Puck sneered and Sam narrowed his eyes at him, his own fists curling at his sides.

"Listen, you bas –"

"Samuel Evans!" a shrill voice interrupted Sam and Puck smirked when a small and petite girl stood in between them, her arms outstretched as though she had an ounce of a chance of stopping them if things got ugly. "We agreed about this. Do not stoop to his barbaric level."

Sam cast her an annoyed look, one Puck could identify with if he was to be honest. Berry had always been a pain in the ass.

"I completely resent that, Puckerman," Berry hissed, her hands on her hips as she whipped around and glared at him.

Oh, he must have said it aloud. He ignored the petite brunette and addressed the blonde male instead.

"Listen, Lady Lips," he started and felt a sense of satisfaction when Evans growled. "Try to fight your own battles next time you confront me. Using a small ass midget is seriously low. Even for you."

Sam moved forward to lunge at him but Man Hands stopped him, never taking her eyes of him as she did so.

"C'mon, Sammy," she said softly and Puck curled his fists at the softness of her tone. "He's not worth it."

As they walked away, Rachel talking to Sam as though nothing had happened and the tension in Sam's shoulders easing, Puck couldn't help but agree with Berry on one thing. He was not worth it. Heck, he was not worth anything.

**xxx Glee xxx**

"You lazy ass bitch!"

"Get away from her!" Puck screamed as he launched himself at the man hurting his mother. The man pushed him away, his eyes filled with such menace and hatred and Puck gulped. He chanced a glance at his mother, silently telling her to go upstairs with his sister and was relieved when she actually heeded his words for once.

In front of him, the man smirked at Puck, the lips and eyes so identical to Puck's own ones. The only difference was that Puck would never be able to sustain such sinister qualities in him, no matter how much of a jackass people thought he was.

David Puckerman smirked at his son, "Think you're a big fuck now, do you, son?"

"I'm not your son," Puck growled as they circled each other. "What are you doing here?"

"Just got out two weeks ago," his old man grunted. "Thought your Ma would be waiting for me. Imagine my surprise when there was no one."

"What a shocker," Puck sarcastically rolled his eyes and David glared at his son. "Get out."

"What did you say to me, boy?" David stepped closer to him, alcohol tingeing his breath but Puck held his ground.

"You're not hurting this family again," Puck's hands shook with anger as he regarded the older Puckerman. "Now get out before I call the cops."

Pain throbbed through his jaw after his comment and Puck could taste the blood in his mouth. From his position on the floor, his eyes widened as his father grabbed him by his hair.

"Don't you dare threaten me, you fucktard," David's punches got harder as he articulated each word. Puck's stomach ached from the constant hits but he kept himself from whimpering, knowing not to show his sad excuse of a father weakness.

**xxx Glee xxx**

She walked into the school the next day, anticipating her usual morning facial of ice cold syrup. Her hands were tight around her the handbag that contained her second batch of clothes for the day. Rachel held her breath as she walked as quickly as she could to her locker, letting out a relieved sigh when she reached it, unharmed and dry. Guess Puckerman was running late.

Rachel jumped when a hand landed on her shoulder and sighed in relief once again when she realized that it was just Sam.

"You okay, Rach?" he asked as he leaned against her locker, crossing his arms on his chest and glaring at any of his teammates with the slushy drinks in their hands, silently daring them to throw the vile drink at his friend while he was talking to her. Luckily for them, they were not stupid when it came to matters regarding Sam Evans and Rachel Berry.

Rachel just smiled at him weakly and nodded.

"C'mon. I'll walk you to class," he offered and Rachel flashed him a smile as she took his arm, ignorant of the glares Quinn Fabray was sending her way.

**xxx Glee xxx**

Rachel was seriously confused. For the first time since her education life had started, she had gone three full days without getting slushied. Sam had sworn that he had not done anything to Puckerman and Rachel knew that without Puckerman, none of his football lackeys were very useful.

He'd been in school, of course. Every time Rachel saw him, she would turn around and walk the other way. What surprised her was that Puckerman never bothered to follow her. It was as though he had lost interest in making her high school life a major hell. She was so desperate to find out his plans (because she had no doubts that he was waiting for her to not be on defence so that he could strike her when she was most vulnerable) that she even 'accidentally' bumped into Puckerman a few times that day.

Puckerman had just grunted, grumbled that it was okay when she apologized and then resumed to ignoring her for the rest of the day. It was driving her crazy.

And in turn, it was driving Sam crazy.

"You're his teammate. Aren't you supposed to know?"

"Yeah, because Puckerman and I are BFFs and we braid each others' hair," Sam sarcastically mumbled and yelped when Rachel pinched him, annoyed that he was snapping at her. Sam sighed, knowing that she was paranoid and he was not helping her at all. "Look, Rach, just try not to think too much about it alright? For all we know, Puckerman probably got tired of you or something."

If that was supposed to make her feel better, it certainly did not.

**xxx Glee xxx**

Puck winced at the bruise on his back, dreading the thought of going home. His mother had dropped his sister off at his grandmother's place, having left the day before. Despite his mother's pleas for him to follow them, Puck had refused and remained in Lima. Him and Rebecca in Minnesota meant David only having one punching bag in the house. And Puck would be damned if he let his mother get hurt. So no, Puck stayed in Lima because it meant keeping his two girls safe.

A sharp gasp pierced through the silent room and Puck whirled around, his eyes widening as Rachel Berry stood in the doorway of the boys' locker room. He hastily pulled down his shirt even though it was already useless and could only remain frozen on the spot when Berry walked closer to him. Puck growled and let a scowl mask the fear he was feeling.

"What are you doing here, Berry?" he hissed and Rachel jumped back at the venom in his voice.

"I was looking for Sam," she lied and Puck narrowed his eyes at her. "Guess I found something else. Who did that to you?"

"Football practices can be tough, Ber –"

"There was a handprint on your back, Puckerman," Berry snapped and she walked towards him. In a bold attempt, she lifted his shirt to get a better look at the bruise but Puck jumped away from her.

"Look, you cannot tell anyone," he said quietly.

"Let me help you," Berry's words were the last thing he thought he would hear her say. Heck, even she seemed surprised that she had uttered those words. "Please."

**xxx Glee xxx**

If someone had told him that he would be shirtless in Rachel Berry's room, out of all the places to be in, a few hours ago, Puck would have slushied them before throwing them into the dumpster. But Rachel had been so different from the noisy midget she usually was in school. In school, she was loud and self-centred despite the crap people gave her for it.

When she was attending to his bruises, she was gentle and caring. She treated each blue-black spot with such ease that Puck had wanted nothing more than to take her hands, bring her closer to him and kiss her to let her know how thankful he was of her. What? He was a hormonal seventeen-year-old.

"You can stay in the guest room tonight," Rachel told him as he handed him a fresh pair of clothes. "Those are my Dad's. Sam is coming by later with a fresh set of clothes for you to wear tomorrow. You're about the same size, so I gue –"

"Evans knows?" Puck hissed and Berry rolled her twinkling eyes.

"Of course not. But unlike you, he trusts me enough," she said pointedly, in a tone that made Puck feel like trash for questioning her. "Besides, I am not letting you go back to that Neanderthal you call your father. I'm sorry, Noah, but I never really liked him. He was always too loud and crude and I've always thought that your mother deserved someone so much better than him."

"Did you just call me Noah?"

"That is your name, correct?"

"People call me Puck, Berry."

"Well, I refuse to succumb to that terrible name when you have such a beautiful one," Rachel said matter-of-factly and Puck knew he had lost that battle.

**Xxx Glee xxx**

Sam's face when he saw Puck in Rachel's room was priceless. He had frozen at first, before demanding to know if Puck had poisoned Rachel's slushy. He then pushed past the Mohawk teenager to find his best friend doing her homework in her room.

"What?" Rachel asked innocently, amused at Sam's reaction. Sam's face quickly morphed into an annoyed and angry one and Rachel knew she would have to explain everything to him for Puck to live. "Noah needs help, Sam."

"_Noah_? Puckerman's _Noah_ now?"

"Her argument is that I've been named it since I was born and that I should be proud of it," Puck snorted and Sam glared at him.

"What the fuck is going on?"

"I understand your need to use those atrocious profanities given your state of shock, Samuel," Rachel gave him a small, reassuring smile. "But please try to tone it down a notch. And I am afraid that it is Noah's place to tell you, not mine."

"If one of you does not say anything within the five seconds, I am walking out of here," Sam threatened, his eyes never leaving Rachel's face.

Rachel turned to Noah, her eyes pleading for him to understand and Puck swallowed the bile of guilt in his throat. For years, he had been the cause of Rachel Berry's alienation from the high school student body. Was he really that heartless to be the cause that she loses her one true friend?

Sighing, Puck turned to Sam and lifted his shirt.

"Berry's helping me."

**xxx Glee xxx**

"What about Hudson?" Sam asked. "Isn't he your best bud or something?"

"He is," Puck said defensively. "But he has that gay kid as his step-brother. It's kinda weird."

Rachel stuck out her chin, her jaw tightening at his comment, "There is nothing wrong with living in a house with someone of a different sexual orientation than yours, Noah."

Sam was shaking his head at him disapprovingly and the blonde football player pointed to a picture on Rachel's desk. Puck's eyes widened at the sight of two men on both of Rachel's sides and suddenly remembered that Rachel Berry had two fathers. That was one of the reasons that Quinn Fabray had made her life a living hell.

"I didn't mean it like that, Berry," Puck tried reassuring her and Rachel raised her eyebrows, doubtful. "I meant that I think that Kurt guy checks me out. I'm just not comfortable with that."

Rachel nodded understandingly. "I guess Kurt can be a little... intense."

"Pot and kettle," Sam snorted and yelped when the small singer hit him on his head. "Look, Puckerman cannot hide here forever. If his fath – "

"I'm not hiding," Puck said and frowned when Sam waved him off.

"Sure you aren't," the blonde said and Puck and Rachel glared at him. "You can't hide him forever, Rachel."

"Maybe not," Rachel shrugged and the two boys turned to her. "But you can put him away for the next ten years."

"I am not sending my father to jail again, Berry."

"It's Rachel, Noah," she admonished.

Sam sighed and turned to face his teammate. "Look, Rachel's right. Think about it this way, Puckerman. The earlier you put that bastard away, the earlier you get your life back and start being the jerk you are again."

Puck rolled his eyes as he made himself comfortable on his temporary bed. He closed his eyes and sighed, bowing his head as he tried collecting his thoughts. A part of him knew that what Rachel and Sam said was making sense. But the other part of him, the part of him that had lost his father when he was eight, was confusing him.

"Noah, I know it's not an easy thing to do. But sometimes you just have to do the most difficult thing now so that things will be easier for you later," Rachel sat beside him and Sam did the same, albeit reluctantly, on the other side.

"Listen, Puck, Rachel's right," Sam nodded. "Look dude, I hate you. Don't get me wrong." Both Puck and Rachel rolled their eyes at Sam's words. "But if the reason you're not giving your father up is because of your twisted sense of loyalty towards him then maybe it is time to – "

"I was five the first time my father hit me," Puck said and Sam closed his mouth. Rachel took the mohawked teenager's hand. "It took my mother three years to report him to the police, and that was only because Finn's mother had attended to her bruises. You have no idea how much of hell she went through because of him, okay? She cried herself to sleep each night since he was gone for the next few months. I never understood her need to cry for that bastard until I realised that she wasn't crying for him. She was crying for us, and how she had failed to protect us from him."

Unwanted tears clouded his eyes and he turned away from his school mates. "She thought reporting him had worked but he's back now, isn't he? And he's still fucking up our lives. The only difference now is that I'm old enough. I'm old enough to stand up to him, to protect _my_ girls from him every single night."

"And what happens when you can't?" Sam asked, his voice strained. "What happens when he hurts you so badly that you can't move?"

"That hasn't happened yet."

"But it will sooner or later, judging by the bruises on you, Puckerman," Sam stated and he stood in front of Puck. "You need to put him away. For good this time. And I'm sorry, but if you won't, then I will."

"This has nothing to do with you!"

"Unfortunately, it does," Sam shrugged. "My sister and Becca are good friends. Sooner or later, Debby would be at your place. And I don't need my sister around that bastard."

"Becca would never let Debby around our house," Puck shook his head. "She's afraid of him."

"Then, like I said earlier," Sam said smugly and Rachel quietly snorted at the glare Noah was sending his way. "It's time to put that asshole away for good. First thing we have to do is file a report. And then, after they have arrested him, we'll need a good lawyer."

"In case all that hair dye is sipping into your brain, Trouty Mouth," Puck gritted his teeth, deeply annoyed that neither Sam nor Rachel were letting him leave without the compromise of his father being arrested. "My mom and I have no money for a lawyer."

A tiny hand slipped into his and for the first time in a while, Puck felt a warmness in his heart at Rachel's kind eyes. She smiled at him softly.

"Then I guess it's a good thing that my Daddy would gladly do it for free, huh?"

**xxx Glee xxx**

He watched as the two police officers took the man he loathed to call his father away, his arms wrapped tightly around his hysterical mother. His heart raced as his father screamed and struggled against the tight hold the cops had him in, swearing that he would be back. He gulped at the menace and madness in David Puckerman's eyes, silently praying that such hatred and evil would never engulf him the way they had with his father.

Beside him, Rachel gave his hand a gentle squeeze and he gave her a small, grateful smile. Evans stood on his other side, his expression grim as Rachel's father put a hand on his shoulder.

"Noah," Rachel's dad held out his hand and Puck shook it. "If you ever need legal help, or any help at all for that matter, please do not hesitate to call us. You, your mother and your sister are family."

It was amazing, really, that Leroy Berry could call him his family when he knew that Puck had been making his daughter's life a personal hell in high school. Nevertheless, Puck would forever be indebted to the this man and his daughter and so he nodded. Leroy and Sam walked to the two policemen to talk to them, Sam giving Rachel a pointed look as he left them to be alone.

"Your mom's about to break down soon and I don't think she'd appreciate any of us but you being here to witness that," Rachel said and she turned to look at him, tears in her big brown eyes. His heart raced at the sight of her, cursing himself for never realising how beautiful this amazing girl was. He hugged her closer when she wrapped her arms around his waist. "If you ever need help, Noah, you know where to find me."

She let go, kissed his cheek and walked towards her father's car where both Leroy and Sam were already seated. At the back seat, Sam put his arm around her and Rachel leaned her head against his shoulder. Puck wished the shoulder was his and he startled when he realised what he had been thinking.

As the police and Leroy's cars drove off, his mother shook as she fell to the ground, openly sobbing her heart out. He glanced around, not at all surprised when none of his watching neighbours bothered to help him.

"C'mon, Ma," he whispered softly. "Let's go inside."

"He's right, Mrs Puckerman," a familiar voice said and Puck felt a familiar hand on his shoulder. He looked up to face his best friend and smiled weakly at Finn. On his mother's other side, Carole Hudson-Hummel helped her up. He watched helplessly as Carole muttered comforting words into his mother's ears as they walked back into his house quietly.

"You okay?"

Puck nodded. "Yeah, just worried about her."

"She'll be fine, dude," Finn said confidently. "Your mother's a strong woman. I have to apologise to you, though."

Puck raised his eyebrows at his best friend. "What?"

"I should have figured it out earlier," Finn gulped. "I was so caught up with my own family matters that I failed to notice what you were going through."

"Stop being a pussy, Hudson," Puck smirked and punched him on the arm. "How could you have known? When I want something to be hidden, I hide it well."

"And yet, Rachel and _Evans_," Finn spat out Sam's name, "found out about all this before I did. I guess that does say something."

"That you're not very smart? I thought we established that a long time ago?" Puck smirked, even if he did feel like throwing a fit. Finn raised his eyebrows at Puck, too used to how much of an emotional retard he was. Puck sighed, guilt already consuming him for being a bitch to his best friend, the person he knew deserved his jerkish behaviour least. "Look, I'm sorry I didn't go to you, alright? But the truth is, if Rachel hadn't walked in on me in the locker room, nobody would have known."

"But she did," Finn nodded. "And you do know that we'll owe both her and _Evans_ a lot, right?"

"Yeah," Puck sighed an ignored the way his heart race at the mention of Rachel's name. "We do."

**xxx Glee xxx**

Rachel closed her eyes as she waited for the ice cold syrup to sting her face. Maybe she'd get a cold and then she'd be able to stay home and not be in this hell-hole like Sam. Then again, that would mean a missed glee club practice and Rachel knew she'd rather lose her Spring Awakening tickets her father had got her. Oh, curse Sam for falling sick and leaving her all alone.

And no Sam meant that there was no one to protect her from the group of hockey jocks that had pinned her against the wall, their team captain toying with her as he faked throwing the slushy at her for the third time.

"Just promise us that you'd get your nose fixed and we'd let you go, Man Hands," Mendez, the captain smirked and Rachel opened her eyes to glare at him. She didn't bother telling him that she was proud of the way she looked. When he hadn't listened the first time, there was no way he was going to listen to her for the third.

"I actually like the way her nose looks, Mendez," a familiar voice growled and Rachel turned to face Noah, his arms crossed over his chest as he glared at the hockey jocks. Behind him, Finn gave Rachel a reassuring smile before going into the same stance as Puck.

Rachel grinned slightly when the two hockey jocks gulped and Mendez grimaced.

"What's it to you, Puckerman?"

"See, Berry's actually a good friend of mine now," Noah stepped closer to Mendez and Rachel felt her heart swoon at the way he was defending her. The two hockey jocks had put her down by then and she smoothed her skirt out. When she walked away from them, Puck protectively stood in front of her, his hostile gaze still never leaving Mendez. "Fuck with her and you fuck with me. And you know you don't wanna fuck with me."

"What Puck is trying to say," Finn grinned as he cracked his knuckles. "Is that Rachel is one of us now. And for that record, so is Sam Evans. So, if you mess with her, you mess with all three of us. And messing with us means messing with the cheerleaders. And you don't want Quinn Fabray and Santana Lopez after all your asses, now don't you?"

"What does Quinn have to do with this?" Mendez gulped and Rachel remembered the rumour she heard in fourth period about how Mendez had set his sights on Quinn. Guess that particular rumour was true.

"Where have you been these past few weeks, Mendez?" Puck smirked. "You may have the hots for Fabray but she goes wet for Evans. And we all know you don't fuck with either of them so I know you've gotten our message."

Mendez and his jocks nodded at each other and as his teammates walked away, he glared at Puck, Finn and Rachel.

"This isn't over."

When the jerks were finally out of sight, Rachel turned to smile at both her rescuers.

"Thanks," she smiled shyly and Puck rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. Finn shrugged.

"We owe you big time, Rach."

As Puck took her bag and books out of her hands, the three of them walked out of McKinley together, forming a strong front to whoever that looked their way with Puck glaring or cursing at anyone who dared to make a snarky remark and Finn chatting with Rachel about her glee club, Puck listening in to get to know her better . And that was the day Rachel Berry became untouchable in McKinley High.

**xxx Glee xxx**

"Wait, so he saved you?" Sam's sneeze at the other end of the line made her giggle and Rachel nodded even though she knew he could not see her. "And Quinn Fabray likes me?"

"Oh, honestly Sam, was that the only part you got?" Rachel chided, though she was too happy to care. Sam had been her first true friend but the way Puck and Finn had stuck by her that day had made her so elated. And she would never forget the way Puck had introduced Santana and Brittany to her during lunch, with him protectively wrapping his arms around her small shoulders and warning Santana that she was not to be bullied upon anymore.

"Of course not, Rach, but c'mon, it's Quinn Fabray!" Sam protested and Rachel rolled her eyes. "Anyway, looks like you don't need me anymore then."

"What?"

"Your victimized days are over, Rach. Puckerman made that pretty clear, didn't he?"

"Samuel Evans! You are my first friend and my best friend. Nobody can replace you!" Rachel protested and she heard Sam chuckle nervously at the other end of the line.

"That's good to hear, Rach," he said and Rachel felt herself relax. "Tell me about Quinn again!"

Rachel laughed as she recounted her story to her best friend, her smile brightening when she received a Facebook message from Puck, a notification alerting her that Finn had posted on her wall and friend requests from Santana and Brittany.

Yeah, today was the best day ever.

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><p><strong>AN: So, this is the prequel to my Puckleberry story, You're Not Him. I don't know if I should continue and make this a multi-chapter so please help me decide by leaving it in your reviews and let me know what you think! Criticisms appreciated! :)**


	2. The Perfect Girl

**Title: **Slushied**  
>Chapter: <strong>2 (The Perfect Girl)  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Friendship/ Hurt/ Comfort & slight Romance  
><strong>Pairings:<strong> Slight Puckleberry, Sam/Quinn & Finn/Puck friendship, Rachel/Sam/Puck friendship,  
><strong>Word Count:<strong> 5,086 words  
><strong>Summary: <strong>As much as they hated it, slushies were a significant part of their lives in Mckinley High. AU

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, as much as I wish I was clever enough to come up with this piece of genius. I am just a girl who fell in love with the characters and wants to write a story of her own. Please review and tell me what you think! :)**

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><p>She watched Sam bark out a laugh at something Man Hands had said and gritted her teeth as she turned away from them, forcing open her locker with even more force than necessary. Her eyes travelled across the books in her locker, trying so hard to get her mind to focus on the books she needed, rather than the thoughts of what he could possibly see in that big nosed midget that needed to be sent back to Israel.<p>

"So, it's true then?" a deep voice asked and she turned around to face Rafe Mendez, the captain of the hockey team. Quinn Fabray raised her eyebrow at him, turning back to her locker as she quickly grabbed her books, uncomfortable under his intense stare. She stifled a gasp when he roughly grabbed her arm, his eyes hard. "You're into Evans?"

"Don't be an idiot," she hissed and yanked her arm away from him. She glared at him, hating the way his eyes roamed her body, as though she belonged to him. "Touch me like that again, and I will file for harassment."

"Like you did the last time?" he scoffed and she froze at his question. The hair on the back of her neck rose and she stood her ground as he walked closer to her, so close she could feel his breath. She resisted the urge to smack his hand away when he raised his hand and caressed her cheek. "Although, if I remember correctly, you were the one who invited me over."

She slapped his hand away. "Stay away from me."

"Don't give me that attitude, bitch," he growled as a dark look crossed his sinister face and Quinn took another step back, unaware that their conversation was slowly gathering the attention of students around them. "I made you and you know I can break you."

"You're not gonna break me," she growled back, suddenly so angry that this bastard thought that he had any right over her. "You're a jackass, Mendez. Now, leave me alone."

"I don't th – "

"Is there a problem here?" a familiar voice snarled and Quinn inwardly sighed in relief. She stepped further away from Mendez, and her saviour stepped in front of her protectively.

"This has nothing to do with you, Evans, so just fuck off," Mendez glared at him, and Sam crossed his arms across his chest, pushing Rachel beside Quinn behind him when the midget attempted to say something. Beside her, Rachel scoffed and rolled her eyes at Sam's protectiveness.

"Actually, Quinn and I go to the same church. So her business is my business. And you know you don't wanna get in my business."

It was weird, really. When Mendez had claimed her as his, she had felt insulted, felt as though she had been one of his possessions. But when Sam had protectively said what he just did, she knew that he took her as an equal, as someone worth fighting for. And that warmed her heart.

"Don't threaten me, Evans," Mendez had curled his fists by then and Quinn could almost see the smoke coming out of his ears and nose like an ugly ferocious dragon. Sam stood, his jaw clenched as he motioned for the two girls to move away. While Quinn was more than happy to obey, Rachel stepped away from her best friend's protective haven and stood beside him instead.

"Throw that punch and I assure you that with the number of reports I will make against you, you'd be out of the streets for the rest of your life," Rachel said casually as she raised her eyebrow at the hockey jock, donning on a stance Quinn had never seen her take. Rachel Berry had been her victim for almost the whole of her high school life so far and never had Quinn seen the petite girl stand up to her aggravators as she was doing right then.

And then it clicked. Sam and Rachel, they may not like each other more than best friends would but they protected each other. The way Puck and Finn did, the way Santana and Brittany did. Her realisation caused a pang of sadness in her heart. Who did she have?

"You got nothing on me, Berry," Mendez smirked and he looked past them to stare at Quinn. She squirmed uncomfortably and felt a strange sense of gratitude when Rachel pushed Sam behind her, and Sam stood in front of her.

"Verbal and physical bullying, harassment, under aged drinking as well as a few other crimes I'm sure you don't want me to reveal right now, will definitely land you in a juvenile prison, Mendez," Rachel smiled at him innocently and the hockey jock stepped back, looking unsure for a fleeting second. "So I suggest you walk away now."

"This isn't over," Mendez glared at all three of them.

"So you said the last time," Rachel rolled her eyes and Sam grinned. "Honestly, get a new tag line."

Mendez growled and walked away, not before giving Quinn the evil eye, silently telling her that their conversation was not over. She shivered and turned to face Sam and Rachel, grateful but so confused.

"Thank you," she said softly, her eyes mainly on Sam before she nodded at Rachel. For once, the loud-mouthed midget said nothing and just gave her a small smile in return. "But that was completely unnecessary. I had it all under control."

"Quinn," Rachel exasperatedly sighed and took her hand, ignoring the strange looks they were getting. The drama queen and HBIC getting along? That had been unheard of. "He was obviously harassing you. You looked like you were about to puke when he stepped closer to you."

"Rachel's right. And he had no right to touch you if he made you that uncomfortable," Sam sincerely said and Quinn swallowed the tears that were threatening to spill. Instead, she glared at the two friends, crossed her hands across her chest and flipped her hair.

"And neither of you had any right getting involved in my business," she hissed. Sam's eyes widened at her outburst while Rachel narrowed her eyes at her, too used to Quinn's side remarks. "And seriously, next time you feel like playing the hero, don't. Because I don't need help, especially not from a bleach-haired reject and a high school outcast."

She hated herself for saying that, for causing the hurt look in Sam's eyes and the frustrated one in Rachel's. It was a weak attempt to grasp back her reputation, the one that said she feared no one. And the fact that she had needed rescuing, from the football jock and his drama freak nonetheless, had shown that Quinn Fabray was not invincible, that she was weak and fragile. And she would be damned if she was known for being a vulnerable little girl again.

"Wow. You really are a bitch," Rachel shook her head. "C'mon, Sam. Let's go before she accuses us of something else."

Sam nodded, his eyes never leaving the head cheerleader's face and Quinn turned away from him. She rolled her eyes and walked past them, purposely bumping her shoulder against Rachel's, not letting them know that their words had gotten to her. Because Rachel Berry was right.

She, Quinn Fabray, was a bitch.

**xxx Glee xxx**

"I cannot believe her! Mendez was obviously making her uncomfortable and the thanks we get for getting her out of that undesirable situation was even more insults? What in the world is wrong with that girl?" Rachel rambled as she paced around their table in the cafeteria, too furious to sit down.

Sam shrugged, trying not to let his best friend see that what had just happened had affected him too. Oh, it wasn't the insults that Quinn had thrown at them that bothered him. He was used to those kinds of words from Puck, Finn and Santana ever since they started becoming sort-of friends. No, what bothered him was the slump in Quinn's shoulders when Mendez had first talked to her, the quivering of her bottom lip and her desperate attempt to hold up a strong front for the rest of the world.

"Oh no. You have that look on your face," Rachel groaned and Sam looked at her questioningly. "The lovesick expression your face always dons on every time you think about Quinn Fabray. You can't possibly be on her side!"

"Okay, first of all, you know I don't like it when you use your weird psychic powers on me," he shivered and Rachel rolled her eyes at him. "Secondly, while I agree that she didn't have to be a bitch, you kinda have to look at it from her perspective."

"Because you know her so well?" Rachel's sarcasm was not lost on him.

"Obviously not well enough," Sam grinned and chuckled when Rachel scoffed. "Anyway, I've been studying her. Not in the Jacob-Ben- Israel study kinda way but the I-have-the-hots-for-you kinda way."

"And?"

"And she's very defensive," Sam said and Rachel stopped chewing on her apple to raise her eyebrow at him. "Look, I see her at church and I've seen the way she's expected to behave. By her parents and her friends. And well, maybe the way she is in school is because she's treated that way at home?"

"So you're saying she's a bitch at home too?" Rachel's face scrunched in confusion and Sam shook his head.

"I'm saying that maybe she's the opposite. Maybe at home, she's the victim instead of the tormentor."

"And that makes her being a bitch okay?"

"Of course not," Sam rolled his eyes at her. As much as he understood Quinn's way of behaving, he understood Rachel's too. Years of being tormented and bullied by the same person would not subside because of her best friend's observations.

**xxx Glee xxx **

"How was school, darling?" her mother asked her during dinner that night. Quinn shrugged and continued chewing her chicken, resisting the urge to roll her eyes when her father gave her a condescending look.

"Answer your mother when she asks you something, Quinn," he said sternly and Quinn inwardly sighed.

"It was fine," she mumbled.

"And how are things between you and Rafe?"

_Oh, he's excellent. He's an asshole who insists on threatening me and making my life miserable in school. He's the exact version of you, Dad. You'd be proud to know that he thinks he controls my life almost as much as you do. Fucking bastard. _

"Quinn?"

She snapped out of her internal ramble and faced her parents. "We don't talk much."

"Well, that's a shame considering the history both of you have," her mother sipped her wine glass and Quinn grimaced at her words. Almost immediately, her palms became sweaty and a pang of sorrow hit her hard.

"If this is what dinner is going to be about, then I'm not hungry," the blonde teenager stiffly said and made to get up. She stopped when her father grabbed her wrist, his tight grip hurting her. She kept quiet though, and silently stared back at the man, trying to stand her ground for once. "Let go of me."

"Sit down and finish your dinner. Your mother and I were just trying to catch up on your life," her father gritted his teeth, his grip even tighter when she struggled and his face contorted into an angry one when she broke free.

"What does Mendez have to do with my life?"

"Considering he was the father of the child you lost a few months ago, I'd say he is a big part of your life, Quinnie," her mother softly said. Though her tone was gentle, her words pierced Quinn to the extent that the teen was quickly finding it hard to breathe. Quinn glared at her mother, her eyes moist with tears and displaying the hurt she so badly felt.

"I'm going for a walk," she hissed and stomped out of her house, ignoring her father's infuriated calls.

She knew that she was safe once she was outside though, because no matter how angry her parents were with her, they would never run after her outside the house. Chasing her meant yelling at her outside, where the nosey neighbours always craved for gossip on the perfect family. And Quinn knew that her parents would always choose their reputation over anything else. Including her.

Her family life was fucked up. Scratch that.

Her life was fucked up.

**xxx Glee xxx**

"You know, this is supposed to be a group project," Rachel reminded them for the umpteenth time and both Puck and Sam turned to her and shrugged. From the corner of his eye, he saw Rachel scoff at their dismissal of her and Puck grinned at the way she flipped her hair and angrily scrawled on their report. Damn, that girl was sexy when she was pissed.

Beside him, Sam raised his eyebrows at him and Puck shrugged, not at all bothered that he had been caught checking Rachel out by Sam. Maybe he would have been worried a few weeks ago but ever since his father had been put into jail, thanks to both Sam and Rachel, he had formed an odd sort of friendship with the both of them. And despite the slushies he was sure that an asshole of a hockey jock was going to throw at him soon, he was thankful for their friendships. Of course, he'd rather eat shit that admit that to the two of them.

"We already did our part, Rach," Sam tried reminding her and unconsciously took a step back when Rachel whipped around to glare at them, menace in her eyes and fury practically taking over her face. Damn, sexy and scary. An dangerous combination.

"Copying and pasting research from the Internet is not at all research, Samuel Evans," she growled and she picked up the files on the counter. She threw one at the blonde jock, smirking evilly when it hit him on his stomach. "I've left a portion for you to continue on. If I find any content in there pasted from the Internet, I will change the bleach in your shampoo bottle to black hair dye."

"Evil," Sam whispered, and frantically nodded when Rachel narrowed her eyes at him. Puck resisted the urge to chuckle, knowing that if he did, they'd be in even deeper shit that they already were in.

"And you, Puckerman," she drawled and walked closer to him. He gulped and helplessly glared at Sam when the blonde jerk hurried over to the other side of the room. Puck opened his mouth to save himself but before he could say anything, the midget hit him hard on his head with the next file.

"Damn it, woman, are you fucking crazy?"

He wailed when she hit him again and cursed when he heard the Sam's sharp intake of breath. Oh yeah, Evans definitely got the better part of Rachel.

"Hopefully, that smack would balance any deforms in your brain when you were dropped in the head while you were a baby," she smiled sweetly at him before handing him the file. He took it from her and before she could say her next sentence, he beat her to it.

"I promise not to copy and paste from the Internet."

She nodded approvingly, took her bag and marched out of Sam's house without a goodbye. Puck turned to Sam, his hand still rubbing the sore spot of where he had been hit.

"What. The. Hell."

Sam shrugged. "Welcome to my world."

**xxx Glee xxx**

Quinn gazed at the stars above her, although her mind was far from the beautiful sight. Almost unconsciously, her hands went to her stomach, a gesture she had gotten used to a few months ago. Unwanted tears gathered in her green eyes and she closed them, not at all wanting to lose control of her emotions.

Her efforts were in vain. She found herself sobbing as she clutched her stomach tighter, her heart aching for the child she had lost a few months ago. A child she would have been forced to give up for adoption should she have given birth to her just so her parents would not lose the reputation they had worked so hard to build.

She'd found out her baby would have been a girl a few weeks before she had lost her baby. She'd dreamt about that baby girl, with her blonde hair and green eyes, the exact replica of her. Because there was no way her child would look like Mendez, like a monster.

**xxx Glee xxx**

That night, Sam sat on his study table, his favourite pen tight in his hand, a piece of paper in front of him. A blank piece of paper.

"This is stupid," he mumbled as he got up, only to freeze before sitting down and grabbing his pen again.

He was going to write a letter to Quinn Fabray. And as much as he knew how bad of an idea that probably was (Rachel's shrill voice was ringing in his head), he just could not help himself. He just could not get her scared face out of his head.

As much as a part of him agreed with Rachel, another part of him knew that Cheerleader was not the real Quinn. He'd been studying people his whole life, what with his mother being a therapist and all, and he knew that he'd read Quinn properly.

He'd seen the way her parents treated her at church, in front of everyone to see. He'd seen the way she had faked a smiled at everyone her parents introduced her to. He'd seen the way she had longingly looked at the group of children playing at the playground and especially the softness in her eyes every time she saw a parent comfort his or her child.

He'd also never forget the way she had laughed when she had been playing with his sister and brother at the playground when her parents had disappeared. He'd always remember the way her eyes twinkled, the way they sparkled as she caught Brian and Debby, as though she was the happiest girl in the world. Her laughter had been musical, so unlike the shrill fake laughter she had in school, and her smile was breath-taking, so unlike the snotty smirk she always plastered onto her face in school.

And then, all those amazing things stopped the moment she realized her parents had returned and were staring at her. Her smile disappeared and she gently let go of Brian, smoothed her dress, gave his siblings a last small smile, and she walked towards them with her head held high.

Suddenly, he knew what to write.

**xxx Glee xxx**

She rolled her eyes at Jacob Ben Israel's whimper at being thrown into the dumpster and walked past the jocks, high-fiving Finn as she walked by. Quinn sashayed to her locker, glaring at the two freshmen who were animatedly blocking her locker. As if sensing her presence, they two girls turned to her and Quinn watched in disgust when their eyes widened in fear at her arrival.

"Don't just stand there like ugly idiots," she snarled. "Move."

The two freshmen hurriedly walked away and Quinn grumbled as she forced open her locker, startled when a folded piece of paper with her name on it fell out. She caught it just in time and looked around, praying that a repeat of the previous day's events would not happen.

_Dear Quinn,_

_They can't hurt you unless you let them._

_You're brave and strong and I admire you for that. Don't let them define who you really are. _

_From,_

_A concerned friend _

Her eyebrows scrunched in confusion. She looked around to see if anyone was watching her read the note, and turned back to her locker in frustration.

"Morning, sunshine," a familiar voice grinned and Quinn crossed her hands across her chest and glared at the jock in front of her. The Mohawked teenager raised his hands in surrender. "Whoa. Why is bitch being a Quinn today?"

Quinn slammed the note against his chest and as Puck read it, his mouth curved into a smirk. The head cheerleader slammed her locker and tapped her foot, silently waiting for an explanation.

"This your idea of a joke?" she snapped and Puck shook his head, his stupid smirk still gracing his irritating face.

"I did not write this," he admitted. "But I think I know who did."

"Who?"

"A concerned friend," he cheekily grinned and Quinn rolled her eyes, her anger melting away as Puck put his arm around her. "C'mon, Q. I'll walk you to class."

From the corner of her eyes, she saw Berry shooting an annoyed look at her direction and inwardly chuckled. Looks like the rumours about Puckleberry were true then. She gripped the paper in her hand tighter though. Maybe someone did care after all.

**xxx Glee xxx**

That night, Sam thought about Quinn, about how furious she had looked when she had received his note. But then he'd seen the way she had put the small piece of paper into her wallet and the small smile that had embellished her beautiful face. And so, the next day, he put another note in her locker.

_Dear Quinn,_

_In case you haven't heard it in a while, you're special. _

_From,  
>A concerned friend<em>

_P.S. These aren't stalker messages. _

**xxx Glee xxx**

She laughed at the last line of the note, and placed the note carefully in her wallet, behind her first note. Her heart warmed at these notes and despite the fact that many people would have found it creepy, she found it sweet.

Over the next few days, the notes appeared in her locker every day. She started looking forward to her mornings. She smiled more, she laughed more. The notes were slowly becoming her guiding principles. Puck had even joked that she studied the notes more that she studied her textbooks. And it was most probably true, considering she treasured those notes more than anything.

She knew Puck knew who her 'Concerned Friend' was. He had hinted and she knew that if he had not had known, he would have found out himself. But she never asked him about it. Truth was, she was scared that if this person found out she knew who he or she was, the notes would stop.

Dinner with her parents became even more torturous though. Ever since the notes had started, she had started being her own person in front of them. She'd disagree with them, something she had not really done before, and she'd even started blocking their hurtful words out. Whoever the writer of her notes were, she was thankful for him or her.

Unfortunately, only two weeks later, her father's words had been too sharp to block.

Dinner had actually started out pleasantly. But then as usual, her parents asked her about school, about Rafe. She kept quiet, they got angry over her lack of response and a full blown shouting match between her and her parents happened.

She'd threatened to quit cheerleading, celibacy club and all other things that had made her the perfect daughter in the eyes of the citizens of Lima because really, she hated every part of her role as the perfect daughter. She'd never forget the look of utter horror on her mother's face and the furious one on her father's, their concerns more about her (their) reputation.

"I've been this perfect model my whole life and I am sick of it! When are you going to realise that I am not happy with this?" she yelled, tears already glazing her eyes. She was tired and angry and all she wanted to do was leave but she needed her answers.

"Perfect?" her father scoffed and Quinn stilled. "Losing your virginity last year, getting pregnant. Do you know how much you screwed things up for me and your mother? Years of our hard work would have crumbled just because you could not keep your legs close!"

"How could you even – "

"Truth is, the only good thing you've done is lose that baby and you didn't even do that," her father snarled and Quinn took a step back, her heart already aching for her child as she suddenly found it hard to breathe again. "That baby probably knew how much of a fuck up you were and decided it'd rather not be born."

She burst into tears as she ran up to her room and slammed her door. Through her blurred vision, she scrambled around her room to find her notes, the ones that could comfort her. Slowly, her cries subsided and she collapsed into her bed, the notes clutched tightly against her chest.

Again and again, she told herself that her baby had left because she was not ready for this ugly world. It was not her fault that she had a miscarriage. She repeated the sentences to herself, not once believing any of those words.

As she read and reread the notes, she finally decided on something. Or rather, a lot of things. She'd been the perfect girl her whole life. It was time to shred that image, time to be the person she was supposed to be.

She walked to the bathroom, and in just a moment, snapped the scissors across her blonde locks.

From that moment onwards, Quinn Fabray would live her life the way she wanted to.

**xxx Glee xxx**

The news that Quinn Fabray had quit as head cheerleader had buzzed through the school almost as fast as Kim Kardashian's marriage. It had been no secret that Coach Sylvester had been on a rampage that morning and Rachel had made a mental note to practically run in the other direction if she even heard the woman's footsteps. She'd been shoved by Coach Sylvester before, and she'd bruised like a peach. So yes, she was staying away.

What really concerned her though, was Quinn. Had Sam's letters finally worked? She had to admit that they had worked miracles.

She'd found out about the notes on the third day and had not spoken to him for the next two, furious that he had been helping her enemy. But then she had given him a chance to explain himself and since Puck and Finn, the latter albeit begrudgingly, were on his side, she had no choice but to accept it. After all, the combined puppy eyes of all three idiots had melted her even when she had looked away.

She'd been sceptical at first, of course, but then she'd seen the change. Slowly, Quinn Fabray stopped calling her names. Slowly, she was nicer to the freshmen. Slowly, she was... nicer. Of course, she still had her bitchy moments but then again, everyone had those, right? So maybe Sam's notes did work.

She watched from the sidelines as Quinn, out of her cheerleader uniform, walked through the hallways, her books clutched tightly to her chest as students whispered around her. As much as may dislike Quinn Fabray, Rachel could not help but pity her at that moment. She turned away from Quinn to get to her locker, narrowing missing the sight of the hockey captain dumping the blue slushy onto Quinn's face.

The hallways were silent for a short while before slowly, bursts of laughter or little giggles were heard. Cheerleaders who used to be under Quinn were snorting at her, the jocks, minus Puck, Sam and Finn, were full on laughing at her and kids she used to sneer at and lead slushy attacks against giggled. Pity overwhelmed Rachel as she took a fresh set of clothes out and slammed her locker and walked towards Quinn.

"How does it feel to be on the other end of the slushy toss, Ms Fabary?" Jacob Ben Israel's snarky voice was heard as he walked closer to take a picture. Rachel curled her fist as she knelt beside Quinn. Sometimes, she really hated that, forgive her language, asshole.

"Quinn?" she kept her voice soft and gentle and Quinn looked at her, tears in her already swollen eyes. Rachel's heart melted at the sight of the defeated girl. "C'mon, let's get you changed."

Quinn nodded and Rachel put her arm around her as she helped the ex-cheerleader up, not caring that parts of her clothes were getting stained either. She paused to glare at Mendez, nodded at Sam when he clenched his jaw, silently giving him permission to kick the jerk's ass. Sam, Puck and Finn nodded at her.

Once they were in the bathroom, Rachel started on Quinn's hair, suddenly thankful for the new haircut, even if she did notice a few unprofessional cuts. Quinn stayed silent the whole time. When she was finally changed and cleaned, Rachel moved to open the bathroom door when Quinn grabbed her hand.

The blonde smiled at her warmly, and for the first time, Rachel understood where Sam was coming from.

"Thank you," Quinn nodded, tears suddenly springing into her eyes and she collapsed onto the ground. Rachel was by her side in an instant. "And I'm so sorry."

She didn't need to explain what she was sorry about. They both knew what she meant.

"I'm going to get Sam, okay?" Rachel softly said and Quinn looked at her imploringly. "He's really worried."

Quinn nodded, although she stayed the way she was on the ground. Rachel sighed as she got up, opened the door and almost immediately two bodies slammed against her as they collapsed. Rachel groaned. Freaking Neanderthals.

"You okay, Q?" Puck asked as he helped Rachel to her feet, the latter ignoring the warmth that spread through her at his touch. Neither noticed that he never let go.

Quinn nodded and smiled weakly. "It was about time someone did this to me, anyway."

Sam shook his head as he sat beside her, the fact that he was getting comfortable in a girls' bathroom unseemingly unnerving him, Puck and Rachel doing the same on her other side.

"No one deserves this," he put his arm around her and Rachel almost grinned when Quinn unconsciously leaned her head against it. "You're strong though. You'll get through this."

"I don't –"

"They can't hurt you unless you let them," Sam smiled and for a moment there was a comfortable silence in the bathroom. And then, Quinn sprang up and stared at Sam, her eyes wide.

"What did you say?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Alright, so how was this chapter? I understand that there was not much Puckleberry (although there were hints!) but I needed to build up the Sam/Quinn storyline so that they can coincide with the rest of the story. Don't worry though. There'll be more Puckleberry in the next chapter so remember to review!**


	3. Comfort in the Bathroom

**Title:**Slushied**  
>Chapter:<strong>3 (Comfort in the Bathroom)  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Friendship/ Hurt/ Comfort/ Romance  
><strong>Pairings:<strong> Puckleberry, Sam/Quinn, Finn/Quinn/Rachel/Sam/Puck friendship,  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>2,666 words  
><strong>Summary:<strong>As much as they hated it, slushies were a significant part of their lives in Mckinley High. AU

* * *

><p>"They can't hurt you unless you let them," Sam repeated, his voice shaking as he stood up, resisting the urge to roll his eyes when Rachel and Puck mumbled out excuses of guarding the toilet door before dashing out faster than Kurt could have into a Gucci store with fifty percent vouchers. Once the door slammed after the two idiots, Sam gulped when Quinn moved closer to him, her beautiful green eyes dripping with small tears he so badly wanted to wipe away. Instead, he stood frozen on the ground until Quinn was so close that he could feel her cold breath.<p>

Slowly, she raised her hand towards his face and Sam felt his heart race when her soft hand made contact with his cheek. Her green eyes bore into his, and she smiled at him shakily and wrapped her arms around him.

He stood, frozen at first, before his own strong arms wrapped themselves around her. He could not help but think of how right it felt, and how she fitted perfectly into his arms.

"Thank you," she said softly and kissed him on his cheek, flushing as she stepped away from him and looking at the ground. Gently, he lifted her chin so that she would look at him, and hopefully see that he had meant everything he had said to her because he had.

"Anytime."

**xxx Slushied xxx**

Noah became her ride home that day, since Sam had offered to bring Quinn home after the rough day she had. Rachel frowned at the thought of Quinn. The taunts and snide remarks had affected the blonde even worse than any of them could have thought. Rachel supposed it did make sense.

Unlike most kids, high school had been Quinn's safe haven, where she had been able to escape the remarks her parents made at home. At McKinley, Quinn was the one who made the remarks, who said the mean words, and inflicted social humiliation to anyone who dared cross her way. With her quitting the Cheerios, her situation at home – which, according to one of Sam's theory, was not a very happy one – and her situation in school were probably now the same.

"Stop doing that, Berry."

"Doing what, Noah?"

"Being quiet. It's scaring the crap out of me," the mohawked football player teased and Rachel rolled her eyes before hitting him on his arm. "Seriously though, what's going on that pretty little head of yours, Rach?"

She ignored the way her heart raced when he called her pretty. "This situation with Quinn just puzzles me, Noah. She had everything going on for her – popularity wise anyway. Why would she give all that up?"

"Q has gone through shit with her parents quite a lot," Noah thoughtfully told her and she looked at him, waiting for him to continue. "She doesn't exactly have the best relationship with either of them."

"So because she could not handle the pressure from her parents, she quit the Cheerios? There's absolutely no link here," she huffed and Noah chuckled at her. As they reached the house, he turned off his engine and faced her.

"I guess she'll tell us when she's ready to," Noah shrugged and Rachel nodded, grabbing her backpack as she made to open her door. She stopped short though, when Noah's giant hand rested on hers, and she turned to look into his hazel eyes, so full of concern. "You're okay with this, right Rach?"

"With what?"

"With this Quinn thing. She needs friends right now and there's no way Finn and I are going to leave her alone. Plus, I doubt Sam would either."

"Okay," she drawled, confused over what he was asking of her. "So, what's your question again?"

"Are you okay with being friends with Quinn?"

"Noah, as long as she doesn't hurt Sam or you or Finn, then I am definitely okay with being friends with her," she shrugged and sighed when he merely raised his eyebrows at her. "It will take some getting used to but I know I'll get accustomed to it eventually. She needs friends she can depend on and if she needs me, then I am there for her."

"You're a good person, Rachel Berry," he said softly as he tugged her hair behind her ear and stared at her. Rachel could feel the heat in her cheeks and she smiled at him.

"Thank you, Noah. I really needed to hear that," she said softly as their eyes bore into the others'. She could feel her chest rising and falling from the rapid pace of her heart as he leaned closer to her. Rachel too found herself drawn to him, her eyes darting from his eyes to his lips.

The ringing of her cell phone startled them both and Rachel cursed whoever was on the line. When she saw who it was, she sighed and rejected the call.

"Who was that?" Noah asked, his eyes still dark from the passion they had been interrupted from.

"That was Jacob Ben Israel. Ever since the Quinn drama in the morning, he's been trying to get a hold of me so he could get the details," she rolled her eyes and dumped her cell into her bag. "It's either that or he's trying to ask me out on another date. Either way, it sucks for me."

"He's harassing you, Rach," she was surprised to see such anger in his eyes and Rachel felt her heart warm at the thought of Noah feeling protective of her. It felt nice. "I'm going to beat him up so bad tomorrow, he's going –"

"Violence is never the answer, Noah," she chastised him and squeezed his hand in reassurance. "But thank you for that. I needed that too."

She kissed him on his cheek, opened his truck door and stepped out. Her mind still on the way his lips had looked before Jacob had called, she waved at him and started walking back into her house.

**xxx Shushied xxx**

He laid on his bed that night, his mind on the pretty brunette he knew he was starting to fall for. It was weird, really, that out of all the girls in Lima he could have fallen for, he fell for the girl he had been slushying since the start of high school. Then again, this was the same girl who had saved him from his abusive father and accepted Quinn even after all those years of being bullied by the blonde ex-cheerleader. Puck was finding it close to impossible to not see how truly amazing Rachel Berry was.

The way she had helped Quinn today had made his heart swell. He had meant it when he had told her that she was a good person. So maybe she was crazy and somewhat violent when she never got what she wanted, but she was determined, loyal and everything the past girls he dated were not. She was different.

Which was why it sickened him that Jacob Ben Israel was bothering. That creep would never learn that he was a nuisance to the people around him no matter how many times he had been slushied or tossed into the dumpster. The fact that he was bothering Rachel just made Puck growl and he sat up on his bed, grabbed his phone and dialled a number he had been calling for the past few weeks, bothered by the fact that he could not hunt down Jewfro because of his promise to Rachel.

"Hello?"

"What do you know about Jacob Ben Israel harassing Rachel?" he ignored the greeting.

"That creep is still bothering Rachel?" Sam asked, his voice suddenly low and angry, and Puck resisted the urge to throw something.

"You mean this has happened before?" he snarled.

"A week after we became friends, I found him cornering her in the auditorium, trying to get her to give him the panties she was wearing in exchange for her special pink mike," Sam growled and Puck felt the bile rising in his throat. Rachel loved her pink microphone. "She was screaming at him but he seemed to be enjoying it so I punched him and told him that if he ever came near Rachel again, I'd skin him alive."

"Was Rachel okay?"

"Dude, she was completely indifferent. She told me that Ben Israel's been harassing her since middle school and that what I just witnessed was almost a daily occurrence. The only difference was that someone actually bothered to save her," Puck heard the distress in Sam's voice and ran his hand through his Mohawk. All this while, she'd been so strong but so alone. All because of him.

"Then what happened?" Puck asked softly, guilt coursing through his veins as he closed his eyes, trying so hard to keep the sorrow he was feeling at bay. Damn it, what was it about this girl that made him feel emotions he normally would not?

"I hunted the bastard down the next day and broke his camera. Told him that if he ever went near Rachel again, his broken camera would be the first of the many things he'd find broken. Rachel found out and she made me promise 'not to resort to such barbaric acts of violent when we live in a civilised society'" Puck could feel Sam rolling his eyes and a small smile tugged at his lips. "And I made her promise that if that creep ever bothered her again, she'd tell me. I guess only one promise was kept."

"Yeah, well, she made me promise the same thing," Puck sighed. "What are we going to do?"

"Considering she broke the promise she made to me, I guess it's only fair that I do the same," Sam said and Puck could feel the regret the blonde was feeling. Before tonight, he would not have cared about how Sam and Rachel's friendship were. But now that he knew them, he knew how close they were. He knew how protective they were of each other, and even how bad their fights would be. Rachel was not going to like it when Sam dealt with Jacob.

But if it meant keeping Rachel safe, if it meant that she stopped being harassed, the they were going to do it.

**xxx Slushied xxx**

"I can't believe you told Sam!" she hit Puck on his shoulder and glared at him. "He won't even look at me now!"

"Yeah, well, you shouldn't have broken your promise," Noah shrugged and Rachel felt her blood boil even more when he slammed his locker and walked away from her. Why was he being so dismissive?

"Noah!" she walked faster to keep up with him and gasped when he glared at her, the soft eyes filled with kindness that she was been so used to seeing the past few weeks replaced with such hostility. She put her hands on his. "What's going on?"

He grabbed his hand away from her. "None of your damn business, Berry."

She let him go, too shocked at the venom in his voice.

What in the world just happened?

As she went through what had just happened in her head, she failed to see the jock that was striding towards her, a cup of the most dreaded drink in McKinley in his hand. It was a second too late when Rachel saw him because the next time she opened her eyes, they stung from the coldness of the slushy, her clothes soaked with the red slushy clinging to her shirt.

Down the hall, her eyes found the ones she thought she could draw comfort from. Instead, Noah turned and walked away from her. Never in her life had she felt so broken.

And maybe it was because of that that she broke down in front of Mendez and the entire student body for the first time since she got slushied.

**xxx Slushied xxx**

She followed Rachel into the bathroom, determined to help the girl who had helped her the day before. She could not believe what she had just seen. How could Puck have just walked away? He had not even defended Rachel.

Quinn walked into the bathroom to find the brunette sobbing her eyes out as she tried roughly to wash the slushy out of her hair.

"Rachel?" she called softly as she approached, her arms wide as the petite singer looked at her. Almost immediately, Rachel fell into her arms and started crying even harder than before. Slowly, both girls sank to the floor, Rachel just not being able to stop crying and Quinn just stroking her hair, an action she realised comforted the distressed diva.

**xxx Slushied xxx**

"_Jacob," his voice sounded menacing to his own ears. "You've been making Rachel very unhappy lately."_

_He could feel the smaller boy shaking as he lifted him against the wall in the AV room. Beside him, Sam was nodding his head as Finn kept watch at the door. _

"_And we don't like Rachel unhappy, do we Sammy?" _

"_Not at all, Puck," Sam shook his head and Jacob squeaked. _

"_I haven't done anything!"_

"_Stop texting Rachel," Puck growled. "Don't even look at her. Do we understand each other?"_

"_What do you care, Puckerman?" Jacob stuck out his chin and Puck resisted the urge to punch it back in. "You've been making her life hell since she stepped into McKinley. You're the reason she used to cry herself to sleep every night and the reason she didn't have any friends until Sam Evans here came to Lima. So what gives you the right to threaten me?"_

_He let go of Jacob then, still glaring at the truth behind the creep's words. Fortunately, Sam took his turn to pin Jacob against the wall. _

"_We're not here to listen to your fucked up opinions, Jewfro," Sam spat and the gossip blogger just stared at him. _

"_Fucked up?" Jacob snorted and turned his attention to Puck. "Rachel's got a bright future ahead of her. She's going to New York and she's going to be the next big thing since Barbra Streisand. What do you have, Puckerman? You're just going to be a Lima loser your whole life. You have no right to be with her! You're worthless and bru –"_

_Jacob did not get to finish his sentence as Puck's fist hit him on his face. Sam had to hold the Mohawk-ed teenager from hitting Jacob again. _

"_It's not true, Puck," Sam's voice was soft and Puck looked at his friend. He shook his head. _

"_We both know it is," he dejectedly mumbled, and ignored the insults Jacob was hurling his way as well as Sam and Finn's calls for him to come back. _

**xxx Slushied xxx**

"Sam!"

Sam turned to smile at the familiar voice but frowned when he saw the distress in Kurt's voice. Beside him, Finn tensed as his step brother ran towards them and caught Kurt just in time as the younger boy tripped.

"Kurt, what's wrong?" Finn asked as he steadied his brother. The young soprano took a deep breath.

"Rachel got slushied by Mendez," he huffed and Sam stilled. "And Puckerman just stood there and watched! He didn't even go after Mendez or Rachel!"

He was going to be sick. He'd spent the whole morning being mad at Rachel for not confiding in him, and now when she needed him, he hadn't been there. He had to make it up to her.

"Where is she?"

"She's in the bathroom just outside the cafeteria with Quinn," Kurt said and he raised his eyebrows at that.

Good, at least she wasn't alone. Not for the first time, he was thankful for the friendship he had developed with Quinn.

"Sam, you go on with Rachel," Finn said and the blonde nodded at the taller boy. Finn's jaw clenched as he said the next words. "And I'll talk to Puck."

Finn did not need to do any convincing. Sam was already rushing towards the toilet.

* * *

><p><strong>an: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! For those of you who read You're Not Him, Puck's insecurities have started. So what do you guys think? Review! **


	4. Weak and Safe

**Title: **Slushied**  
>Chapter:<strong>4 (Weak and Safe)  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Friendship/ Hurt/ Comfort/ Romance  
><strong>Pairings:<strong> Puckleberry, Sam/Quinn, Finn/Quinn/Rachel/Sam/Puck friendship,  
><strong>Word Count:<strong>4427 words  
><strong>Summary: <strong>As much as they hated it, slushies were a significant part of their lives in Mckinley High. AU  
><strong>AN: **I am so extremely sorry about how late this was posted. I had writer's block and I apologize to those of you who have been waiting a long time for this. Hopefully, this chapter makes up for it! xoxo

**xxx Slushied xxx**

It had been three weeks since he last spoke to her. Three weeks since he had just left her alone in the hallways drenched in slushy, three weeks since Sam had punched him for not being there for Rachel and three weeks since he had his friends by his side. He could even see the disappointment Finn was obviously feeling every time he looked at his best friend.

Honestly, he felt like shit. The previous weeks he had spent with Rachel had left a mark on him and more often than he liked, he found himself thinking of her and how she must be feeling. He did not have to think much when he saw her in school though because Rachel Berry made her feelings about him known.

She ignored him. She never looked him in the eye and when she accidentally did, she looked away almost immediately. She successfully avoided him during the classes they had together and had even taken to eating her lunch in the glee club room. He noticed that she was jumpy and skittish, and every time a jock who was not Sam or Finn walked towards her, she would quickly dash into the nearest bathroom.

It was his fault. He had changed her from being a confident and determined young woman who took crap from nobody into a girl who feared an ice cold drink. He really was an asshole.

"_He's not worth it."_

Her voice constantly rang through his head and he'd always hate himself a million times more after hearing it. He'd broken the girl who had helped him, and he had failed to protect her. Never mind that he had hunted the bastard Mendez down the next day. Hurting Mendez had not fixed Rachel at all.

He, Noah Puckerman, was really not worth anything.

**xxx Slushied xxx**

Sam was getting sick of everything. He was sick of controlling his temper every time he saw Puck in school. He was sick of seeing Rachel so closed off from him that the only thing she was concentrating on now was getting into NYADA. He was sick of doing nothing. Three weeks of an unhappy Rachel was enough to make him scream.

If anything, the only one getting him through his days in school and with Rachel was Quinn. The blonde beauty had been so amazing with Rachel these past few weeks. She'd been the one to stay over at Rachel's house and comfort the petite singer the first day Puck had walked away from a drenched Rachel. Quinn had been the one who ran after Rachel when a jock and Cheerio had made a mean comment about her in English. Quinn had been the strong one throughout everything even with her own problems.

Sam knew her parents were giving her trouble at home. It was probably why she spent so much time at Rachel's. He had a feeling though, that as much as Quinn had been comforting Rachel over Puck, Rachel had been comforting Quinn about her parents. The two were almost inseparable now and though Sam sometimes felt left out and jealous, he was glad that they were there for each other.

"Anyone ever told you that your mouth looks disgustingly huge at this angle, Trouty Mouth?" a snarky voice brought him out of his thoughts and he rolled his eyes at Santana's comment.

"What do you want, Satan?"

"I want to know why one of my best friends is pining over that damn midget when he could do so much better than her," Santana snarled and Sam snorted.

"Please. Puck's even lucky Rachel gave a damn about him when _no one_ else noticed," his words brought a guilty look to the cheerleader's pretty face, but it was gone almost as immediately as it came. "Look, we both know that what Puck did was wrong. So tell him to quit being an insecure jerk, apologise to Rachel and then prove to her that she really does mean something to him."

"What is it about that damn girl that draws jocks to her?" Santana's jaw locked and she advanced towards Sam. Slowly and seductively, she traced her finger down Sam's face. Again, the blonde jock rolled his eyes and pushed her away gently. Anger clouded the cheerleader's face. "What does she have that I don't, huh?"

"A heart, Santana," he smirked at her. Santana's eyes widened with hurt at his words and Sam took the opportunity to walk away from her then, ignoring the guilt he was feeling at the pit of his stomach for being mean to Hispanic cheerleader.

**xxx Slushied xxx**

"So you're telling me that you suspect that the reason we have not spoken for three weeks is because of what that creep Jacob said to him?"

Sam nodded his head and looked helplessly at Quinn. She just shrugged at him from the other side of the room and continued filing her nails, not at all bothered by the glare he was sending her way.

"But – But that's ridiculous!" Rachel sputtered as she paced on her bedroom floor. "Noah knows better than to believe anything Jacob says!"

"Apparently not, Rach," Quinn blew at her nails and offered the petite singer a small smile. "So, what are you going to do?"

"I guess I'm just going to have to show him that he is worth something," Rachel slowly cam to the conclusion and Sam was glad to see the sparkle that was slowly making its' way into her eyes. The blonde quarterback gave Quinn a thankful smile. "This totally challenges the stereotypes of how teenage girls are the insecure ones. Promise me you'll never be as idiotic as Noah, Sam?"

Sam chuckled as he exchanged an amused glance with Quinn.

"Promise, Rach."

**xxx Slushied xxx**

She tiptoed into her house that night, determined not to make a sound that was sure to wake her parents. Quinn grimaced as her footsteps made the stairs beneath her feet creak and as quietly as she could, rushed up and into her room. As she closed her door and let out a breath of relief, she leaned her head against the door, only to gasp and clutch her chest when she realised that her mother was on her bed, waiting for her.

"Mom," Quinn breathed. "What are you doing here?"

"Where were you, Quinn?" Patricia's voice was soft and low, donning on a tone that alerted Quinn that she was in trouble.

"I was at Rachel's," the younger blonde shakily replied and moved back a step when her mother stood up, a furious fire in her green eyes.

"I've told you so many times that you are not to associate yourself with that girl, Quinn!" her mother's voice was slowly getting louder and Quinn had no doubt that her father would be in her room sooner or later. "She has fathers who deal in unnatural passions!"

Quinn resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "They're good people, Mom."

"They're a nuisance to society, that's what they are!" Patricia's shrill voice shrieked.

"If you're going to insult the people who have been supporting me these past few weeks when my own family hasn't, then you might as well just leave, Mom," Quinn snapped and opened the door. Patricia gasped at her daughter.

"How dare you?" her mother hissed and for a second, Quinn found herself faltering. Her moment of weakness only lasted a while though after she noticed a picture on her bedside table. "Your father and I have raised you all these years in a comfortable home with everything you could possibly want and this is how you repay us?"

"What's going on in here?"

Great, just what Quinn needed. Her father getting involved in yet another fight. Almost immediately, her mother launched into an exaggerated version of what had transpired between them and Quinn was honestly too tired to deal with either of them.

"Quinn, are you or are you not getting close to the Berrys?" her father questioned her, suddenly calm even though his face was slowly getting red.

"I am," she answered honestly and before her father could say anything else, she continued, "And I am not going to stop being friends with Rachel. I've been mean to her for too long, Dad, and she never deserved anything I threw her way."

"She's the by-product of those men, if you can even call them that."

"Dad, that's enough," Quinn gritted her teeth, greatly angered by the way her parents were carelessly insulting the Berrys. Was this all she had been all this while? Had she been exactly like them? So shallow and so judgemental? She knew the answers to those questions but Quinn refused to acknowledge them. No, she was nothing like her parents. And even if she had been, she would no longer be. "They're my friends now."

"You're going to have to choose, Quinn," her father said in frustration and Quinn felt her heart beat so much faster at the question she knew was going to come. "It's either us or your new friends."

"Let's see," she sarcastically, proud that her voice was not shaking as much as she was inside. "The two people that claim to be my parents but have never shown me any kind of affection or the family that has made me feel so much more special than I really am? I think I'll stick with Rachel, thanks."

Never had she seen her father so angry but at the same time, never had she felt so confident and alive. It felt good to stand up to her parents, and yet be able to know that no matter what she had a real family to turn to because that was what Sam, Rachel and her fathers had become to Quinn.

"Is that your final decision?" her father asked softly as her mother dramatically sunk onto her bed. Quinn stuck out her chin and nodded. "Then get out."

"W-What?"

"If you're not going to play by my rules, then you have no right to live in this house," Bill said stoically and glared at his daughter. "You bring shame to this family, Quinn. And I'd rather have no daughter than have one like you. Now get out."

She swallowed the fresh bout of tears that were threatening to spill and raced out of the house, not at all bothered that she had left everything behind. All she could think of was getting to one place, a place she knew would accept her and give her the comfort she needed.

**xxx Slushied xxx **

Rachel groaned at the constant ringing of the doorbell, not at all pleased at being woken up from her beauty sleep. Honestly, her NYADA audition was in two weeks and she needed to be able to show the assessors that she was a healthy, capable and worthy applicant for NYADA. She was also not in the best of moods because of what she had found out from Sam about Noah as well as the fact that her fathers had left her just an hour ago because of an urgent business trip.

She yanked her front door open, ready to scream at whoever was ringing her doorbell at 2 am in the morning, only to stop and stare at the person on her front porch.

"Quinn," she gasped, taking in the haggard appearance her friend had donned on.

Quinn did not look good. Her clothes were rumpled as though she had been in them the whole day, her face was smudged with mascara as tear tracks wet her cheeks and the sadness in her eyes made Rachel pull the blonde girl into her house and hug her the moment the door closed behind them.

Almost immediately, Quinn broke down in her arms and the two of them sank to the floor. Rachel could barely make out the words Quinn was trying to say through her muffled sobs but she quickly gathered that Quinn had been kicked out from her house.

Not for the first time, Rachel felt a sense of hatred towards the two people that could cause Quinn to feel such a sense of sorrow. Bill and Patricia Fabray may be perfect Christians to the outside world but behind the doors of their homes, Rachel could not help but envision them as mean creatures with mean frowns and mean words. Maybe it was a good thing they kicked Quinn out.

As Quinn's sobs subsided and the blonde started pulling away from her, Rachel gave her friend a comforting smile. "Better?"

"Thanks, Rach," her quiet voice broke Rachel's heart and the petite singer took Quinn's hand and led her to her bedroom where they could both sleep and deal with whatever matters they had to deal with the next day.

**xxx Slushied xxx**

Sam rushed into the Berrys' household the next day, worried out of his mind as he made his way into the kitchen, knowing that by then, Rachel would be having her breakfast, regardless of whether her fathers were present or not. After all, Rachel Berry always stuck to her morning routine religiously. And he was right. Rachel was in her kitchen, sipping from a glass of orange juice.

"Rachel!" he panted and the petite singer handed him his sandwich. Sam put it on the table and looked at her, panic in his eyes. "Quinn's gone! I went to her house this morning and – "

"She's here."

"Her mother was crying and telling me that Quinn no longer lived with them before she slammed the door on my face! Can you believe it? Those bitches she calls her parents kicked her out of their house! She could be anywhere!"

"She's here, Sam."

"Oh god, what if she does something stupid because she was so upset? We have to –"

"Sam!" Rachel gave him an amused chuckle. Why was she amused? Sam would have thought that she would have panicked even more than he already was. "She's here."

Relief surged through him and he sunk down onto the seat opposite Rachel, the adrenaline he had previously felt rushing out of him as he tried catching his breath. "How is she?"

"Tired. Angry. Distraught," Rachel sighed. "We're staying home from school today, Sam. She can't go to school in the state she is in."

"You're right," a weak voice said and both Sam and Rachel turned to face Quinn, her eyes red and puffy from all the crying and Sam walked over to her and hugged her. Almost immediately, he felt her stiff body relax and Sam was glad that he was able to offer Quinn at least a little comfort. When they pulled apart, Quinn turned to face Rachel. "But you can and you need to if you're going to convince Puck to stop being an idiot."

"I'm not leaving you alone."

"I'll stay with her," Sam nodded and Quinn shot him a thankful smile while Rachel gave him a look of annoyance. "Quinn's right."

"So it's settled then!" Quinn clapped her hands in finality, and Sam and Rachel exchanged uncertain smiles. "Go win your boy back, Berry!"

With that the blonde beauty raced up the stairs, no doubt to hide her oncoming tears from Sam and Rachel. Her attempt was futile though, since both her friends saw them anyway. Fortunately for her though, her friends knew her well enough to know that she needed time alone.

"How any parent is able to just disregard their child the way the Fabrays did is beyond me, Sammy."

Sam got up and put his arm around his best friend, hugging her close, "I guess some people just aren't as lucky as we are, Rach."

**xxx Slushied xxx**

Puck dragged his feet into his Geography class that day, planting himself on an empty seat at the back of the class before giving Jacob Ben Israel a dirty look when the bastard pointed his camera at him. On his left, Finn rolled his eyes at his best friend.

"Looks like you're still not done being an ass," Finn observed and Puck turned to glare at him. The tall football player sighed. "Just talk to her, Puck."

"It's been three fucking weeks, Finn," Puck growled and put his head on the table. "Drop it."

"You know as much as I do that –"

Puck sat up straight when his best friend stopped talking and saw that Finn was actually raising his eye at the person who had sat beside Puck. Slowly, Puck turned to face his classmate, ready to go all Sue Sylvester on whoever it was, when his eyes widened at the sight of her.

"Er, morning, Rach," Finn said and Puck could tell by the tone of his voice that that bastard was grinning widely. He took little notice though, because he was still to shocked to register that Rachel Berry was sitting beside him and taking out her books, plopping a paper bag in front of him (no doubt that it contained some healthy tofu crap that actually tasted good) as though the past three weeks had never happened.

"Good morning, Finn. And good morning to you too, Noah," Rachel smiled at both of them, the small smile he had missed seeing gracing her pretty face. "Did you complete yesterday's homework?"

Around them, their classmates had turned their attention to the trio, no doubt shocked that Rachel Berry and Noah Puckerman were sitting less than a few inches away from each other.

"I did, actually, Rach," Finn nodded and Puck glared at him. The jerk just shrugged and continued to address Rachel. "But I did have trouble understanding the fifth question though."

"Oh, it's quite easy. You just have – "

"What are you doing, Rachel?" Puck cut her off softly and both her and Finn stared at him questioningly.

"I'm trying to get Finn to understand question five of our homework that I'm sure you never bothered to look at, Noah," she gave him a disapproving look, one that was so Rachel-like, that he was taken aback. By then, people around them seemed to have lost their interest and the only one that seemed to be really paying attention to them was Jacob Ben Israel, who had his camera completely trained on them.

"You need to go away," he hissed and was surprised when Rachel just rolled her eyes at him. Beside him, Finn snickered and that just made him even more annoyed than he already was. "Don't you get it? I want nothing to do with you."

For a moment, hurt flashed through her beautiful brown eyes before she masked it completely and regarded him coolly. Beside him, the traitor he called his best friend muttered, "Asshole."

"In case you missed what I just said a few seconds ago, Noah," Rachel exasperatedly said and pushed her book towards Finn, "I am helping Finn. If anyone needs to move, it's you because you are in the middle of Finn and I. I know that other seats have been taken but there is one next to Jacob Ben Israel if you feel the need to move."

Damn, that girl made him want to light himself on fire.

Frustrated, he kicked his chair backwards as he grabbed his backpack and left, bumping into Mike Chang as he stormed out of the classroom. If he had stayed longer, he would have not have missed the way Rachel had slumped her shoulders as though in defeat.

**xxx Slushied xxx**

"What is it with you and bleachers, Puckerman?" Santana groaned as she plotted herself beside him. Puck scowled at her unwanted appearance, choosing to ignore her as he continued smoking, only to glare at her when the cheerleader took the cigarette out of his mouth and put it out. "Didn't Berry give you a lecture on how bad smoking is for your health? Where do you think my raspy, man-like voice came from?"

"Would everyone shut up about Berry already," he snapped. Santana raised her perfectly-shaped eyebrows at him. Puck sighed and turned away from her, not at all bothered by the silence between them.

"Finn told me about the whole thing between you and Berry, you know," her voice was soft and as the they stared at each other, Puck was surprised to see the rare seriousness and compassion on her face. "I will never understand why you feel the way you do, Puck, but the way I see it, neither does Berry. If anything, she makes you worth it."

"Listen, Satan –"

"Just let me speak and get this out, okay?" Santana asked and he nodded. "Puck, when you were with Berry, you were so much happier. You stopped your pool-cleaning shit, you started defending kids you used to throw slushies at and you were finally getting decent grades in school. You had the potential all this while but you never used it. Berry pushed you to use it."

Puck stared at his friend, listening intently, too tried to walk away or to get her to stop.

"She showed you that you're worth something the moment she started showing that she cared about you when everyone around you, people who claimed to be your friends, could not see what she did. I know I'm guilty of it and it is because of that that I would forever be grateful to her. She saved you, Puck."

"Are you done?" Puck asked and Santana nodded, dejected at how stoic her friend was. "Good, because for a while there, I thought you had a heart, Satan."

He almost immediately regretted his words when he saw the flash of hurt that crossed the Hispanic's face. It was gone in an instant as she stood up, her face cool and collected as she shook her head at him.

"Fuck you."

"Thanks, but I'm sure you'd rather do that with Brittany."

**xxx Slushied xxx**

For the next three weeks, Rachel did all she could to get close to Noah. She sat beside him during class, brought him lunch everyday and even resorted to making sure that he was forced into being in her glee club. It had been surprisingly easy to do so since all she had to do was suggest to Mr Schuester and Coach Beiste that the glee club and football team collaborate on a dance number together for the next big playoff games as an attempt to stop the bullying. The two teachers were convinced in a matter of minutes.

Sure, she got dirty glares from most of the football team and her own glee club members were irritated that she was using glee as an excuse for her own personal agenda but honestly, she could not care less. Besides, the glee club needed more members and some of the football team members were great additions. Who knew that Mike Chang was an amazing dancer or that Finn could actually carry a tune?

As for Noah, Rachel could not help but feel even more defeated and hopeless every time he turned away from her. As she watched the way Quinn and Sam had been getting closer each day since Quinn was kicked out, she could not help but feel like a third wheel. And though she would rather eat breath mints that would destroy her vocal chords in a few years than admit it, she was jealous and she found herself missing Noah even more. Because the way Sam treated Quinn was very similar to the way Noah had treated her. Kindly and gently, as though she was the most special girl in the world.

"Alright guys, that was amazing. Loving the moves, Mike," Schuester high-fived the talented dance and addressed his students. "So, our last practice is this Friday before the big game and I have to say that I am extremely proud of all you."

"Whatever Mr Schue," Puck rolled his eyes and Rachel glared at him for being so rude. "Can we please just leave? I can feel my balls dropping any time soon."

"Shut up, Puckerman," Sam growled and Rachel saw Quinn squeezing his hand to calm him down.

"Make me," Puck shot back and Rachel was sure that things would have escalated had it not been for Coach Beiste's whistle.

"Evans is just upset he ain't getting laid," Azimio jeered and Rachel rose out of her chair, furious. "What do you expect when you're going out with St. Prude over here?"

"That's enough, Azimio," Puck tiredly said and almost immediately, the big football sat back down. Puck looked at Rachel mockingly. "What were you going to do, Man-Hands? Sing him to death?"

"Alright that's it!"

In the blink of an eye, the McKinley choir room was in chaos. Music sheets were being scattered everywhere as members of the glee club started fighting with members of the football team. Kurt and Artie were hiding behind the piano, Mike was defending Tina and Quinn was helping Mercedes sit on a big football player. From across the room, Mr Schuester and Coach Beiste were trying to separate Finn and Sam but it was to no avail because every time they were separated, one of them just managed to throw another punch. Noah was nowhere in sight. Rachel felt the tears sting her eyes and was just about to leave when a rough hand grabbed her around her waist.

"Where do you think you're going, Berry?" Dave Karofsky smirked and Rachel struggled as he pulled her towards him, screaming when his hands pressed against her chest. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she struggled further but that only made him press his hands against her breasts even further. Never had she felt so violated, so weak.

"Don't fucking touch her!" Noah's voice boomed behind her and she felt herself being pulled from Karofsky's clutches, and then pushed behind Noah's buff built as he glared at Karofsky before throwing the first punch. Luckily for Karofsky, he was smart enough to stay down.

"Let's get out of here, Rach," his voice was soft and gentle as he took her shaking hands. He looked at her and for the first time in a long while, Rachel felt a sense of hope when she saw the kind eyes she knew only looked at her that way. She couldn't take another step though, for she was shaking too much, so Noah carried her out the room bridal style.

She leaned her head against his chest and felt his arms around her tightened. As she closed her eyes, Rachel could not help but feel safe again.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And they're finally together! What do you guys think? Review please! xoxo**


	5. Relieved

**Title:**Slushied**  
>Chapter:<strong> 5 (Relieved)  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Friendship/ Hurt/ Comfort/ Romance  
><strong>Pairings:<strong> Puckleberry, Sam/Quinn, Finn/Quinn/Rachel/Sam/Puck friendship,  
><strong>Word Count:<strong> 2013 words  
><strong>Summary:<strong>As much as they hated it, slushies were a significant part of their lives in Mckinley High. **  
><strong>

Puck turned the engine of his truck off and took a quick glance at the girl beside him, her head on the window with her eyes closed. She was still shaking though, and not for the first time, Puck wanted nothing more than to pummel Karofsky to the ground. He shuddered to think of what might have happened had he just walked out as he had originally planned and left Rachel alone. Sam and Finn had been too engaged in hurting each other and Quinn had totally been kicking Ericson's ass with the Black chick who reminded him of Jennifer Hudson every time she opened her mouth.

Making as little noise as he could, he got out of his truck and went over to her side, opening the door and awakening her in return.

"Noah?" her groggy voice was like music to his ears and for the first time in a long while, he smiled at her. He nodded and slipped his arms around her, carrying her out of his truck and into her house. He was surprised at how quickly Rachel took to making him her pillow as she leaned her head against his chest.

Never had he felt so right holding a girl in his arms. As slowly as he could, he laid her on her bed, drawing her blankets before running his hand through her hair. He watched as her shaking slowly ceased and a peaceful smile, small yet one that made his heart soar, before kissing her on her forehead. He withdrew his hand and just as he was about to leave, a small voice called out.

"Noah," she looked at him through sleepy eyes, holding out a hand. "Please don't leave."

He could not deny her anything any longer. He'd put her through so much these past few weeks and the least she deserved was an apology from him. It was time he stopped acting like the asshole his father would have been proud of and started being Noah, the boy Rachel saved from his father with her big eyes of doom and her heart of gold. It was time to start being Noah, the boy who was worthy of Rachel Berry.

And so, he nodded as he closed her bedroom door, slipping onto her bed beside her. Noah put his arms around her and as he felt her breathing against him, he closed his eyes and hugged her closer. And it was then he realised that with Rachel Berry in his arms, he was not Puck, he was Noah. And being Noah felt really good.

**xxx Slushied xxx**

Sam followed Quinn into the Berry household later that day, smiling when he saw Puck's truck in the driveway. It was about time Puckerman got his head out of his ass. Sam made his way into the kitchen, raising his eye at Quinn when she made him sit on the table. The blonde rolled her eyes at his obliviousness and took a pack of ice out of the freezer.

"You know, you really should cut Finn some slack," she said as she pressed the pack of ice gently over his bruised eyes.

"I will when he does," Sam retorted, frowning when Quinn sighed. "Why is it so important to you anyway? I mean, it's not like you're best friends or anything."

"He's still my friend, Sam," she said softly. "He was there for me when no one else was."

"Yeah, and so was Rachel and Puck. And what about me? I've been there for you too," he could hear how jealous he sounded even to his own ears. Quinn pressed the pack of ice even harder and Sam winced, muttering a quick apology when he saw her condescending look.

"I'll always be grateful for what you've done for me, Sam," she said softly as she made herself comfortable on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her, ice pack forgotten, as he looked into her gorgeous green eyes. "You're the reason I've never been happier in my life. But I had a life before you came into McKinley. And I've done things I'm not proud of and I've suffered the consequences for it. Finn was there for me when I had to suffer those consequences."

Sam sighed as he leaned his forehead against hers. It wasn't the first time Quinn had mentioned her life before him. He knew it wouldn't be the last but now that he knew that Finn had been there when no one else was, the least he could do was cut the guy some slack. Even if Finn was a total asshole to him.

"Are you ever going to tell me?" he asked.

He watched as she gulped and his heart ached at the thought of her not trusting him enough even after all they had been through. Slowly, as she raised her eyes to look into his, he saw the resolution in her eyes, the trust she had for him as she gave him the smile he hoped was only for him.

"When I'm ready," she promised. "I'm just not ready to face the past yet."

He hated the way she looked away to hide her tears and put his fingers to her chin and made her face him. He wiped away the tears himself and put his hand on her cheeks.

"Well, I'll be here when you're ready," he reassured her and before he even realised what was going on, they were both leaning in.

Their lips met in a gentle lip lock and Sam could not help but feel like the luckiest guy in the world. When they finally pulled away, their eyes met and they both grinned.

**xxx Slushied xxx**

Rachel woke up the next morning to a familiar set of arms around her and she smiled as she buried her head into his chest, enjoying the safe haven she felt she was in. She heard Noah chuckle and looked up at him, eyes shining with hope and she beamed when he smiled his special smile at her.

"I see you've come to your senses," she said matter-of-factly and raised her eyebrows when Noah had the decency to look ashamed. He opened his mouth to, no doubt, apologize but Rachel just shook her head. "Forget it, Noah."

"Rach, I was being a jackass. You didn't deserve any of what I did," he said and Rachel got up from her bed, putting her hands on her hips as she looked at him sternly.

"I think you made up for it by saving me from that buffoon yesterday," she shrugged. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"You have every right to be mad, Rachel," he said softly and Rachel felt her smile slip off her face. She looked at him, heart racing as he looked at her apologetically. "You believed in me when I didn't believe in you. That was not fair to you and you have every right to be mad at him, even if you think I saved you yesterday."

Silence engulfed the room as Rachel continued staring at him, and slowly, she felt the tears well in her eyes as she remembered the harsh words he had said to her, the slushy attack he had sat by and watched and things he did to push her away. Slowly, she felt the rush of anger flowing through her and she glared at him, eyes watering with angry tears.

Watching the tears in her eyes well up, Noah cursed inwardly as he took a step towards her. He knew he deserved everything she was going to throw at him and he was prepared for it. What he was not prepared for was the hurt in his heart at the sight of her tears. He watched as she struggled to find the words to hurl at him, her eyes betraying how angry and hurt she was. Man, he felt like shit.

"Hey guys, how does scrambled eggs sound for breakfast?" Quinn barged into the room and Noah heaved a sigh of relief. The blonde gasped as she saw the way Rachel looked and rushed to her friend's side, glaring at Noah accusingly the whole time. "Rach, what's wrong?"

"Noah Puckerman!" her scream was loud and shrill and suddenly, Noah wished he was anywhere but with her. Because damn, Berry was scary when she was mad. His eyes widened and he bolted from the room as she charged after him with her cordless microphone, ignoring Quinn's attempts to stop her from yelling like a mad person. "Stay out of this, Quinn!"

He ducked behind the couch as she threw her microphone at him, eyes wide as microphone banged onto the wall behind him. "Damn it, Berry! This was not what I meant!"

"You frustrating Neanderthal!" her voice choked as she glared at him, setting her hands on her hips after angrily wiping her tears. Puck sent a pleading look to Quinn, glaring at Sam when the blonde quarterback just held her back, a smirk etched on his 'you-totally-had-this-coming-you-bastard' expression.

"I know I deserve your anger," he said softly, his eyes never leaving her angry, but beautiful, face. "Fuck, Rach, I know you deserve so much more. I never meant to hurt you."

Rachel gave a sarcastic laugh at that, a sound so unlike her it made his heart sink. Even Sam, who had previously been enjoying Rachel's anger at him, frowned while Quinn just looked sad. Damn it, this was not turning out well for any of them.

"Two months, Noah. Two fucking months!" she shrieked, finally letting out her bottled up feelings. Feelings she never once told anyone, not even her best friend. Feelings she thought would weaken her resolve to get Noah to realize that he was worth more than the pathetic loser he deemed himself to be. "Two months I had to deal with your stupid insecurities and worries about how you'd end up like your father. Two months I had to deal with your insensitive comments that made me insecure about things I've been sure about my whole life. Two fucking months without you in my life was like two lifetimes because that's how much you mean to me now."

She was panting, tired from her rant even though she knew half the things she said probably did not make sense. Across the room, Noah was looking at her as though he was looking at her for the first time. His gaze made her heart race, like it always did, but she was too angry to care about how sorry he looked too.

God, how stupid he was to think he was even remotely like his father. Noah cared, he loved and he was worth way more than his father. How she wished she could convince him of that. But the look in his eyes told her that he still doubted himself, still thought that one way or another, he was going to end up as a Lima Loser, just like his father.

As her anger ebbed down, Rachel walked towards him, her hands reaching for his face. "You are so much more than your father ever was, Noah. I don't know how else to prove it to you. You saved your mother and sister from him. You protected them. You're not going to end up like him. I won't let you."

He believed her. For the first time in such a long while, Puck believed every word she said. God, he had been so stupid. He let the tears cloud his eyes, knowing that if anybody deserved to see them it was the beautiful girl in front of him. Slowly, he reached for her and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her head as she cried into his chest, the stress of the past two months finally relieved.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. "I'm so sorry."

Behind them, Sam and Quinn smiled at each other as they left the living room so that both Puck and Rachel could be alone, happy that the drama was over. For now, at least.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm so sorry for the totally late update but I promise that it won't happen again now that my exams are over! Yeah, so there'll be more time for writing and updating and all the other things I have been putting off for a while. Keep reviewing if you're still interested please! :)**


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